Shang Family Master's Past (Alliance Master Rewarded by Book Friend Starry Sky Inevitable)

"How did you figure out that he was a Skin-Peeling Ghost?" Tao Yaoye asked the question that Steward Zhang would never know the answer to, even in death.

Lu Yang cleaned up the remnants of the battle, using a broom to sweep the Skin-Peeling Ghost's ashes into a small pile, which Tao Yaoye consciously collected with a dustpan.

"It's simple, just keep thinking about what the parrot said. 'Who are you, where is Steward Zhang?'"

"After we met Shang Yuan, she deliberately drove us away, trying to keep us away from the Shang Family."

"This shows that the current Steward Zhang is not the person that the Shang Family's young lady knows, and is extremely dangerous."

"There are three possibilities for Steward Zhang's identity being replaced."

"One is that Steward Zhang was taken over by someone. But why would an old monster who seizes bodies stay in the Shang Family for so long? If it were me, the first thing I would do after seizing a body would be to leave Taiping Township and find a place with good Feng Shui to continue cultivating. Moreover, Steward Zhang's talent isn't that great either. Seizing the Shang Family Master would be better than seizing him." Lu Yang put himself in the other's shoes and thought from their perspective.

"Two, someone disguised themself as Steward Zhang. But that's not right either. The Shang Family doesn't have anything valuable. What would they do pretending to be a steward? Do they have a fetish for serving people? Even if the Shang Family had something valuable, wouldn't it be easier to just rob them? With their Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivation, no one in Taiping Township would care if they crawled around."

"The third possibility is a Skin-Peeling Ghost. Skin-Peeling Ghosts love to collect human skin, disguise themselves as humans, continue their disguises, and live among humans."

Skin-Peeling Ghosts were human in life and ghosts in death, a type of ghost cultivator. Most types of ghost cultivators have some kind of psychological problem.

For example, Skin-Peeling Ghosts are most afraid of having their identities exposed. They try to convince themselves that they are human, say the same things as humans, do the same things, and when they get tired of it, they change their skin and start a new identity, repeating this process over and over again.

Lu Yang's words were logical and well-founded, impressing Tao Yaoye greatly. She couldn't see any trace of the timid Lu Shixiong from the Flying Boat.

She possessed the same knowledge as Lu Yang, but she couldn't think as much as Lu Yang in a short amount of time. This was a difference in cognitive sensitivity.

"Collect the ashes. This is our proof of completing the task." Lu Yang took out a white porcelain jar about two palms high and put all the Skin-Peeling Ghost's ashes into it.

The Skin-Peeling Ghost was an extension of the mission, a part of the mission. Killing the Skin-Peeling Ghost would definitely give more rewards than finding the parrot.

The sound of running outside stopped at the door, as if several people, jolted awake, had come to check on the commotion in the east wing, but didn't dare to enter.

It wasn't hard to guess the identities of the people outside the door. Lu Yang laughed loudly, "Shang Family Master, come in, the Skin-Peeling Ghost has been killed by me, it's safe here."

With a bang, the wooden door was pushed open by the Shang Family Master. Behind them stood their wife and young lady, maids and servants, a total of twelve people, all showing expressions of relief.

"Thank you, two Immortal Masters, for taking action to kill the Skin-Peeling Ghost and save the lives of my Shang Family!" The Shang Family Master knelt down with a thud, and the people behind them also knelt down.

The Skin-Peeling Ghost was capricious. Once it got tired of its identity as a steward, it was very likely to kill all of them in the Shang Family!

"Shang Family Master, you are too kind. Eliminating Yao and subduing Mo, and defending the righteous path is what my Dao Seeking Sect disciples should do." Lu Yang was startled by such a big scene and quickly helped them up one by one.

"Please forgive us, two Immortal Masters. The Skin-Peeling Ghost is elusive and its whereabouts are uncertain. I don't know where it came from."

"Ever since this Skin-Peeling Ghost impersonated Steward Zhang, it hasn't allowed us to leave the Shang Family. If anyone visits, we are not allowed to talk about its affairs. If it finds out, it's a dead end!"

Speaking of this, Shang Yuan on the side also looked ashamed. She was originally a gentle and virtuous young lady. The various cold-hearted actions in her boudoir were all to make Lu Yang and the others stay away from danger.

The Shang Family Master continued, "It's a pity that I retired to the countryside, and all my cultivator wealth has been exchanged for gold and silver jewelry, which is useless to you two, and I can't repay you. I don't know what your needs are. I, Shang, will complete them even if I sell my family property." The Shang Family Master wasn't just being polite, they really wanted to repay their life-saving grace.

Their wealth was almost as worthless as scrap metal to Dao Seeking Sect disciples.

Lu Yang did have a need.

"I heard that you encountered a life-or-death crisis while tomb raiding, and decided to wash your hands of it and retire from the world of cultivation. I wonder what happened at that time?"

Tao Yaoye looked at the Shang Family Master with great interest. Tomb raiding, life-or-death crisis, great terror, washing your hands of it - these words sounded like they had a story, maybe even a great opportunity. She liked exploring the unknown in mysterious places the most.

Lu Yang wasn't as interested in exploring the unknown as Tao Yaoye, but he liked listening to strange and interesting stories.

The Shang Family Master's eyes twitched. To be honest, they were unwilling to recall that terrifying past, but they had to answer the life-saving benefactor's question.

They dismissed everyone, especially Shang Yuan, who tried to stay secretly, leaving only Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye.

"You can't tell anyone else about what I'm about to say today."

Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye nodded.

After receiving a definite answer, the Shang Family Master began to talk about what happened twenty years ago.

"Thirty years ago, I, Shang Zhongtian, was also a well-known figure in the Qi Refining Realm tomb raiding world. If not notorious, I was at least hated by everyone." The Shang Family Master put their hands on their hips, recalling their glorious years.

Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye didn't quite understand why the Shang Family Master Shang Zhongtian was so proud when talking about this.

They didn't know that people in the same trade were enemies, and tomb raiders were also competitors. The fact that Shang Zhongtian had such a good reputation naturally meant that their skills were superb.

"I have always been careful when tomb raiding. I never touch those large tombs or ancient tombs. Large tombs have ghosts, and ancient tombs have immortals. Everyone in our line knows this saying."

The ghosts mentioned here are not Skin-Peeling Ghosts, small Foundation Establishment Realm ghosts, but powerful existences that dominate among ghosts.

"Qi Refining Realm cultivators are poor. They give valuable things to their descendants, so there are no burial objects to speak of. I don't touch the tombs of Qi Refining Realm cultivators, there's no profit."

"Foundation Establishment Realm and Golden Core Stage cultivators have some wealth. After they die, they habitually distribute most of their wealth to their descendants, leaving a small portion for burial. This small portion is enough for me to make a fortune."

"Unfortunately, if you walk by the river often, you're bound to get your shoes wet. That time, I was originally excavating a Golden Core Stage tomb. At the end, I discovered that this was actually a tomb within a tomb. The Golden Core Stage tomb was a burial object, and the main tomb was a Nascent Soul Realm!"

"According to the rules of our line, we cannot dig tombs that exceed our cultivation level too much, but at that time, I was overwhelmed by joy. At that time, I felt that I was at the peak of Qi Refining, and if I really ran, my speed could rival Foundation Establishment Realm. Tomb raiding doesn't involve combat, so if you round it up, I'm also considered Foundation Establishment Realm. There's no danger in digging a Nascent Soul Realm tomb that fell from the sky."

"So I burned incense to the ancestors, asked the ancestors to bless me, and started digging the Nascent Soul Realm tomb."

Temporarily owe another chapter